Network selection system and method for establishment of inter-networking session

ABSTRACT

A network element selection method and apparatus, where the method includes: receiving, by a first network element in a first communications system, a first message from a terminal device, wherein the first message is used to request to establish a session; and in response to the first message, determining, by the first network element in the first communications system, a target session management function network element based on a capability of the terminal device and third subscription information of the terminal device. According to the method, a terminal device that supports a 4G system and a 5G system and that has no interworking requirement can properly select a network element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/584,242, filed on Sep. 26, 2019, which claims priority toInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CN2019/082963, filed on Apr.17, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.201810432656.9, filed on May 8, 2018 and entitled “NETWORK ELEMENTSELECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS”, and Chinese Patent Application No.201810481106.6, filed on May 18, 2018 and entitled “NETWORK ELEMENTSELECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS”, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of wireless communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a network element selection methodand apparatus.

BACKGROUND

As communications technologies quickly develop, a 5th generation (5G)mobile communications technology emerges. At an early stage of networkdeployment, because of insufficient coverage of a 5G network, when alocation of a user equipment (UE) changes, a session of the UE needs tobe handed over between the 5G network and a 4th generation (4G) network.

In other approaches, as shown in FIG. 1, when a UE accesses a 4G system,if a mobility management entity (MME) determines that the UE can supportthe 4G system and a 5G system, the MME selects a co-located sessionmanagement function network element for the UE to establish aconnection. However, in some scenarios, the UE does not need to use aservice of a 5G network or does not subscribe to a service of a 5Gnetwork. In other words, the UE supporting the 4G system and the 5Gsystem has no interworking requirement. Therefore, in this case, the MMEdoes not need to select a co-located session management function networkelement for the UE.

Therefore, a network element is improperly selected in the foregoingcase, and relatively heavy load of the co-located session managementfunction network element may be caused.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of this application provide a network element selectionmethod and apparatus, such that a UE that supports a 4G system and a 5Gsystem and that has no interworking requirement can properly select anetwork element.

According to a first aspect, this application provides a network elementselection method. The method includes: receiving, by a first networkelement in a first communications system, a first message from aterminal device, where the first message is used to request to establisha session; and in response to the first message, determining, by thefirst network element in the first communications system, a targetsession management function network element based on first subscriptioninformation and second subscription information, where the firstsubscription information includes subscription information of theterminal device in the first communications system, and the secondsubscription information includes subscription information of theterminal device in a second communications system.

Therefore, the first network element in the first communications systemcan select a suitable network element as the target session managementfunction network element based on the first subscription information andthe second subscription information. Compared with selecting a networkelement based only on whether the terminal device supports a 4G systemand a 5G system in other approaches, a terminal device that supports the4G system and the 5G system and that has no interworking requirement canproperly select a network element. This way, load of a co-locatedsession management function network element can be reduced.

Optionally, the first subscription information may be subscriptioninformation corresponding to one or more data network identities of theterminal device in the first communications system. The secondsubscription information may also be subscription informationcorresponding to one or more data network identities of the terminaldevice in the second communications system. Alternatively, the firstsubscription information may be indication information that indicateswhether the terminal device subscribes to a data network identity in thefirst communications system, and the second subscription information mayalso be indication information that indicates whether the terminaldevice subscribes to a data network identity in the secondcommunications system.

In a possible design, determining, by the first network element in thefirst communications system, a target session management functionnetwork element based on first subscription information and secondsubscription information may comprise determining the target sessionmanagement function network element based on a capability of theterminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information.

Therefore, the first network element in the first communications systemmay determine the target session management function network elementwith reference to the capability of the terminal device, the firstsubscription information, and the second subscription information.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an MME. When the firstnetwork element in the first communications system determines the targetsession management function network element based on the capability ofthe terminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, and both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude subscription information corresponding to a data networkidentity of the session, the MME selects a co-located session managementfunction network element as the target session management networkelement. Further, a network element having a session managementcapability of the 5G system and a session management capability of the4G system is the co-located session management function network element.

Therefore, the MME may select the co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management function networkelement for a terminal device having both an interworking capability andan interworking requirement.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an MME. When the firstnetwork element in the first communications system determines the targetsession management function network element based on the capability ofthe terminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, the firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session, the MME selects a sessionmanagement function network element in the 4G system as the targetsession management network element.

Therefore, the MME may select the session management function networkelement in the 4G system as the target session management networkelement for a terminal device having an interworking capability buthaving no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal device doesnot need to use a service of a 5G network or does not subscribe to aservice of a 5G network. In this way, a session requirement can be met,such that load of a co-located session management function networkelement can be reduced.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an access and mobilitymanagement function (AMF). When the first network element in the firstcommunications system determines the target session management functionnetwork element based on the capability of the terminal device, thefirst subscription information, and the second subscription information,if the terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, and both the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information include subscriptioninformation corresponding to a data network identity of the session, theAMF selects a co-located session management function network element asthe target session management network element, where a network elementhaving a session management capability of the 5G system and a sessionmanagement capability of the 4G system is the co-located sessionmanagement function network element.

Therefore, the AMF may select the co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management function networkelement for a terminal device having both an interworking capability andan interworking requirement.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF. When the firstnetwork element in the first communications system determines the targetsession management function network element based on the capability ofthe terminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, the firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session, the AMF selects a sessionmanagement function network element in the 5G system as the targetsession management network element.

Therefore, the AMF may select the session management function networkelement in the 5G system as the target session management networkelement for a terminal device having an interworking capability buthaving no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal device doesnot need to use a service of a 4G network or does not subscribe to aservice of a 4G network. In this way, a session requirement can be met,such that load of a co-located session management function networkelement can be reduced.

In a possible design, the method further includes sending, by the firstnetwork element in the first communications system, a second message tothe target session management function network element, such that thetarget session management function network element determines a policycontrol network element and a charging system based on the secondmessage.

Optionally, the second message includes instruction informationinstructing the target session management function network element toselect a co-located policy control network element and a co-locatedcharging system, or a policy control network element and a chargingsystem that are in the first communications system. When the firstcommunications system is a 4G system, the second communications systemis a 5G system, and the first network element in the firstcommunications system is an MME, the MME may instruct, using the secondmessage, a co-located session management function network element toselect a policy control network element and a charging system that arein the 4G system for a terminal device having an interworking capabilitybut having no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal devicedoes not need to use a service of a 5G network or does not subscribe toa service of a 5G network, such that load of the co-located policycontrol network element and load of the co-located charging system canbe reduced. When the first communications system is a 5G system, thesecond communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF, the AMF mayinstruct, using the second message, a co-located session managementfunction network element to select a policy control network element anda charging system that are in the 5G system for a terminal device havingan interworking capability but having no interworking requirement. Thatis, the terminal device does not need to use a service of a 4G networkor does not subscribe to a service of a 4G network, such that load ofthe co-located policy control network element and load of the co-locatedcharging system can be reduced.

According to a second aspect, this application provides another networkelement selection method, and the method includes: receiving, by a firstnetwork element in a first communications system, a first message from aterminal device, where the first message is used to request to establisha session; and in response to the first message, determining, by thefirst network element in the first communications system, a targetsession management function network element based on a capability of theterminal device and third subscription information of the terminal.

Therefore, the first network element in the first communications systemcan select a suitable network element as the target session managementfunction network element based on the third subscription information ofthe terminal. Compared with selecting a network element based only onwhether the terminal device supports a 4G system and a 5G system inother approaches, a terminal device that supports the 4G system and the5G system and that has no interworking requirement can properly select anetwork element, and load of a co-located session management functionnetwork element can be reduced.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an MME. The thirdsubscription information of the terminal may be indication informationindicating whether a data network identity (e.g., an access point name(APN)) corresponding to the session supports interworking with the 5Gsystem (or referred to as a 5G core (5GC)). Optionally, indicatingwhether a data network identity corresponding to the session supportsinterworking with the 5G system (or referred to as a 5GC) furtherincludes: The third subscription information of the terminal isindication information indicating whether the data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with a DNN and anetwork slice selection assistance identification (NSSAI) or singleNSAAI (S-NSSAI). Determining, by the first network element in the firstcommunications system, a target session management function networkelement based on a capability of the terminal device and thirdsubscription information of the terminal includes: if the terminaldevice supports the first communications system and the secondcommunications system, and the third subscription information of theterminal indicates that a data network identity corresponding to thesession supports interworking with the 5G system, selecting, by the MME,a co-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element. The co-located session managementfunction network element may be a network element having both a sessionmanagement capability of the 4G system and a session managementcapability of the 5G system, for example, a session management function(SMF)+Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway-Control (PGW-C) (SMF+PGW-C).Therefore, the MME may select the co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management function networkelement for a terminal device having both an interworking capability andan interworking requirement.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an MME. The thirdsubscription information of the terminal may be indication informationindicating whether a data network identity (e.g., an APN) correspondingto the session supports interworking with the 5G system (or referred toas a 5GC). Optionally, indicating whether a data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with the 5G system(or referred to as a 5GC) further includes: The third subscriptioninformation of the terminal is indication information indicating whetherthe data network identity corresponding to the session supportsinterworking with a DNN and a network slice identification S-NSSAI.Determining, by the first network element in the first communicationssystem, a target session management function network element based on acapability of the terminal device and third subscription information ofthe terminal includes: if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, and thethird subscription information indicates that a data network identity ofthe session does not support interworking with the 5G system, skipping,by the MME, selecting a co-located session management function networkelement as the target session management network element. Skipping, bythe MME, selecting a co-located session management function networkelement as the target session management network element includesselecting, by the MME as the target session management network element,a session management function network element that is not specially usedfor interworking. Therefore, the MME may select a session managementfunction network element in the 4G system as the target sessionmanagement network element for a terminal device having an interworkingcapability but having no interworking requirement. That is, an APN thatdoes not support interworking with 5G In this way, a session requirementcan be met, such that load of the co-located session management functionnetwork element can be reduced.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF. The thirdsubscription information of the terminal may be indication informationindicating whether a data network identity (e.g., a data network name(DNN) corresponding to the session supports interworking with the 4Gsystem (or referred to as an Evolved Packet System (EPS)). Optionally,indicating whether a data network identity corresponding to the sessionsupports interworking with the 4G system (or referred to as an EPS)further includes: The third subscription information of the terminal isindication information indicating whether the data network identity anda network slice identification S-NSSAI that correspond to the sessionsupport interworking with 4G (or referred to as an EPS). Determining, bythe first network element in the first communications system, a targetsession management function network element based on a capability of theterminal device and third subscription information of the terminalincludes: if the terminal device supports the first communicationssystem and the second communications system, and the third subscriptioninformation of the terminal indicates that a data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with the 4G system(or referred to as an EPS), selecting, by the AMF, a co-located sessionmanagement function network element as the target session managementnetwork element. The co-located session management function networkelement may be a network element having both a session managementcapability of the 5G system and a session management capability of the4G system, for example, an SMF+PGW-C. Therefore, the AMF may select theco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management function network element for a terminal device havingboth an interworking capability and an interworking requirement.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF. The thirdsubscription information of the terminal may be indication informationindicating whether a data network identity (e.g., DNN) corresponding tothe session supports interworking with the 4G system (or referred to asan EPS). Optionally, indicating whether a data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with the 4G system(or referred to as an EPS) further includes: The third subscriptioninformation of the terminal is indication information indicating whetherthe data network identity and a network slice identification S-NSSAIthat correspond to the session support interworking with 4G (or referredto as an EPS). Determining, by the first network element in the firstcommunications system, a target session management function networkelement based on a capability of the terminal device and thirdsubscription information of the terminal includes: if the terminaldevice supports the first communications system and the secondcommunications system, and the third subscription information indicatesthat a data network identity of the session does not supportinterworking with the 4G system, skipping, by the AMF, selecting aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element. Skipping, by the AMF, selecting aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element includes selecting, by the AMF as thetarget session management network element, a session management functionnetwork element that is not specially used for interworking. Therefore,the AMF may select a session management function network element in the5G system as the target session management network element for aterminal device having an interworking capability but having nointerworking requirement (that is, a DNN that does not supportinterworking with 4G). In this way, a session requirement can be met,such that load of the co-located session management function networkelement can be reduced.

In a possible design, the method further includes sending, by the firstnetwork element in the first communications system, a second message tothe target session management function network element, such that thetarget session management function network element determines a policycontrol network element and a charging system based on the secondmessage.

Optionally, the second message includes instruction informationinstructing the target session management function network element toselect a co-located policy control network element and a co-locatedcharging system, or a policy control network element and a chargingsystem that are in the first communications system. When the firstcommunications system is a 4G system, the second communications systemis a 5G system, and the first network element in the firstcommunications system is an MME, the MME may instruct, using the secondmessage, a co-located session management function network element toselect a policy control network element and a charging system that arein the 4G system for a terminal device having an interworking capabilitybut having no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal devicedoes not need to use a service of a 5G network or does not subscribe toa service of a 5G network, such that load of the co-located policycontrol network element and load of the co-located charging system canbe reduced. When the first communications system is a 5G system, thesecond communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF, the AMF mayinstruct, using the second message, a co-located session managementfunction network element to select a policy control network element anda charging system that are in the 5G system for a terminal device havingan interworking capability but having no interworking requirement. Thatis, the terminal device does not need to use a service of a 4G networkor does not subscribe to a service of a 4G network, such that load ofthe co-located policy control network element and load of the co-locatedcharging system can be reduced.

According to a third aspect, a network element selection apparatus isprovided. The apparatus includes: a receiving unit configured to receivea first message from a terminal device, where the first message is usedto request to establish a session; and a processing unit configured suchthat in response to the first message, the processing unit determines atarget session management function network element based on firstsubscription information and second subscription information, where thefirst subscription information includes subscription information of theterminal device in a first communications system, and the secondsubscription information includes subscription information of theterminal device in a second communications system.

In a possible design, the processing unit is configured to determine thetarget session management function network element based on a capabilityof the terminal device, the first subscription information, and thesecond subscription information.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the apparatus is anMME. The processing unit is configured to: if the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, and both the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information include subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, select a co-located sessionmanagement function network element as the target session managementnetwork element, where a network element having a session managementcapability of the 5G system and a session management capability of the4G system is the co-located session management function network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the apparatus is anMME. The processing unit is configured to: if the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to a data network identity of the session, andthe second subscription information does not include the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the data network identity of the session,select a session management function network element in the 4G system asthe target session management network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the apparatus is anAMF. The processing unit is configured to: if the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, and both the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information include subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, select a co-located sessionmanagement function network element as the target session managementnetwork element, where a network element having a session managementcapability of the 5G system and a session management capability of the4G system is the co-located session management function network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the apparatus is anAMF. The processing unit is configured to: if the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to a data network identity of the session, andthe second subscription information does not include the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the data network identity of the session,select a session management function network element in the 5G system asthe target session management network element.

In a possible design, the apparatus further includes a sending unitconfigured to send a second message to the target session managementfunction network element, such that the target session managementfunction network element determines a policy control network element anda charging system based on the second message.

A fourth aspect of the present disclosure discloses another networkelement selection apparatus. The apparatus includes: a receiving unitconfigured to receive a first message from a terminal device, where thefirst message is used to request to establish a session; and aprocessing unit configured such that in response to the first message,the processing unit determines a target session management functionnetwork element based on a capability of the terminal device and thirdsubscription information of the terminal.

In a possible implementation, the first communications system is a 5Gsystem, the second communications system is a 4G system, and the networkelement selection apparatus is an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF) network element in the 5G system. The processing unit isconfigured to: if the terminal device supports the first communicationssystem and the second communications system, and the third subscriptioninformation of the terminal indicates that a data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with the 4G system,select a co-located session management function network element as thetarget session management network element.

In a possible implementation, the first communications system is a 5Gsystem, the second communications system is a 4G system, and the networkelement selection apparatus is an AMF network element in the 5G system.The processing unit is configured to: if the terminal device supportsthe first communications system and the second communications system,and the third subscription information indicates that a data networkidentity of the session does not support interworking with the 4Gsystem, skip selecting a co-located session management function networkelement as the target session management network element. For example,skipping selecting a co-located session management function networkelement as the target session management network element includesselecting a session management function network element in the 5G systemas the target session management network element.

In a possible implementation, the first communications system is a 4Gsystem, the second communications system is a 5G system, and the networkelement selection apparatus is a mobility management function networkelement MME in the 4G system. The processing unit is configured to: ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, and the third subscription information ofthe terminal indicates that a data network identity (e.g., an APN)corresponding to the session supports interworking with the 5G system,select a co-located session management function network element as thetarget session management network element.

In a possible implementation, the first communications system is a 4Gsystem, the second communications system is a 5G system, and the networkelement selection apparatus is a mobility management function networkelement MME in the 4G system. The processing unit is configured to: ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, and the third subscription informationindicates that a data network identity (e.g., an APN) of the sessiondoes not support interworking with the 5G system, skip selecting aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element. For example, the skipping selectinga co-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element includes selecting a sessionmanagement function network element in the 4G system as the targetsession management network element.

In a possible implementation, the apparatus further includes a sendingunit configured to send a second message to the target sessionmanagement function network element, such that the target sessionmanagement function network element determines a policy control networkelement and a charging system based on the second message.

According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of this application providesa network element selection apparatus, and the apparatus may be a firstnetwork element in a first communications system, or may be a chip in afirst network element in a first communications system. The apparatusmay include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. When the apparatusis the first network element in the first communications system, theprocessing unit may be a processor, and the transceiver unit may be atransceiver. The first network element in the first communicationssystem may further include a storage unit, and the storage unit may be amemory. The storage unit is configured to store an instruction, and theprocessing unit executes the instruction stored in the storage unit,such that the first network element in the first communications systemperforms the method in any one of the first aspect or the possibledesigns of the first aspect. When the apparatus is the chip in the firstnetwork element in the first communications system, the processing unitmay be a processor, and the transceiver unit may be an input/outputinterface, a pin, a circuit, or the like. The processing unit executesan instruction stored in the storage unit, and the storage unit isconfigured to store the instruction. The storage unit may be a storageunit (for example, a register or a cache) in the chip, or may be astorage unit (for example, a read-only memory or a random access memory)that is located out of the chip and that is in the first network elementin the first communications system, such that the first network elementin the first communications system performs the method in any one of thefirst aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of this application furtherprovides a computer readable storage medium, and the computer readablestorage medium stores a computer program. When the computer program runson a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the method in thefirst aspect or the second aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of this application furtherprovides a computer program product including a program. When thecomputer program product runs on a computer, the computer is enabled toperform the method in the first aspect or the second aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an interworking architecture of a 4Gsystem and a 5G system according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 2 is an overview flowchart of a network element selection methodaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart 1 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 4G network according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart 2 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 4G network according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart 1 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 5G network according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart 2 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 5G network according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a network element selectionapparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network element in afirst communications system according to an embodiment of thisapplication;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart 3 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 4G network according to an embodiment of this application;and

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart 3 of establishing a session connectionby UE in a 5G network according to an embodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes the embodiments of this application withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to anembodiment of this application. It should be understood that FIG. 1 isonly an example and is not used to limit this application.

In an interworking architecture of a 4G system and a 5G system shown inFIG. 1, a 4G network and a 5G network share a user plane function(UPF)+packet data network (PDN) gateway user plane function (PGW-U), asession management function (SMF)+protocol data unit (PDU) gatewaycontrol plane function (PGW-C), a policy control function (PCF)+policyand charging rules function (PCRF), and a home subscriber server(HSS)+unified data management UDM). As used herein, “+” representsco-location, and the “co-location” means that one device has functionsof two entities. The UPF is a user plane function network element in 5G,the PGW-U is a PDU gateway user plane function network element that isin 4G and that corresponds to the UPF, and the UPF+PGW-U is a co-locateduser plane function network element, and has a user plane function ofthe 5G system and a user plane function of the 4G system. The SMF is asession management function network element in 5G, the PGW-C is a PDUgateway control plane function network element that is in 4G and thatcorresponds to the SMF, and the SMF+PGW-C is a co-located sessionmanagement function network element, and has a session managementcapability of the 5G system and a session management capability of the4G system. The PCF is a policy and charging rules function networkelement in 5G, the PCRF is a policy control function network element in4G, an online charging system (OCS) and an offline charging system(OFCS) are charging system network elements in 4G, and the PCF+PCRF is aco-located policy and charging rules function network element, and has apolicy and charging rules function of the 5G system and a policy andcharging rules function of the 4G system. The UDM is configured tomanage user data in 5G, for example, the user data in 5G includessubscription information of a user in 5G The HSS corresponds to the UDM,and is configured to manage user data in 4G, for example, the user datain 4G includes subscription information of a user in 4G The HSS+UDM is aco-located user data management network element. It should be noted thata next generation (NG) radio access network (NG-RAN) in FIG. 1 is anaccess network device in 5G, and an evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications Service (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network(E-UTRAN) is an access network device in 4G In the interworkingarchitecture, an MME communicates with the E-UTRAN using a servinggateway (SGW) and the UPF+PGW-U or using a serving gateway and theSMF+PGW-C. In addition, the interworking architecture may furtherinclude a pure 4G network element, for example, may include at least oneof the PGW-U, the PGW-C, the PCRF, or the HSS. Likewise, theinterworking architecture may further include a pure 5G network element,for example, may include at least one of the UPF, the SMF, the PCF, orthe UDM.

It should be understood that when a UE in the 5G system performs access,if an access and mobility management function (AMF) determines that theUE can support the 4G system and the 5G system, the AMF selects aco-located session management function network element for the UE toestablish a connection. In some scenarios, the UE does not need to use aservice of the 4G network or does not subscribe to a service of the 4Gnetwork. That is, the UE supports the 4G system and the 5G system mayhave no interworking requirement. Therefore, in this case, the AMF doesnot need to select a co-located session management function networkelement for the UE. Therefore, when the UE in the 5G system performsaccess, a problem that a network element is improperly selected alsoexists. Therefore, to resolve the problem that a network element isimproperly selected, an embodiment of this application provides anetwork element selection method. As shown in FIG. 2, to enable a UEthat supports a 4G system and a 5G system and that has no interworkingrequirement to properly select a network element, the method includesthe following steps.

Step 200: A first network element in a first communications systemreceives a first message from a terminal device such as a UE, where thefirst message is used to request to establish a session. The firstmessage is used to request to establish a session. In a possible design,the first network element determines, based on a message type or amessage name of the first message, that the message is used to requestto establish a session. For example, the first message is a PDU sessionestablishment request, or the first message is a PDU connectivityrequest, and the first network element may determine, based on themessage name, that the message is used to request to establish asession. Alternatively, the first message is an attach request, and thefirst network element may determine, based on the message type, thatafter successfully registering on a network side, the UE needs torequest to establish a session.

Step 210: In response to the first message, the first network element inthe first communications system determines a target session managementfunction network element based on first subscription information andsecond subscription information, where the first subscriptioninformation includes subscription information of the terminal device inthe first communications system, and the second subscription informationincludes subscription information of the terminal device in a secondcommunications system. In a possible design, the first subscriptioninformation may be subscription information corresponding to one or moredata network identities of the terminal device in the firstcommunications system. The second subscription information may also besubscription information corresponding to one or more data networkidentities of the terminal device in the second communications system.In another possible design, the first subscription information may beindication information that indicates whether the terminal devicesubscribes to a data network identity in the first communicationssystem, and the second subscription information may also be indicationinformation that indicates whether the terminal device subscribes to adata network identity in the second communications system.

The first network element in the first communications system needs toobtain the first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation. In a possible design, before step 200, the first networkelement in the first communications system sends a third message to aco-located user data management network element, and the third messageis used to obtain the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information. The first network element in the firstcommunications system stores the first subscription information and thesecond subscription information. Alternatively, the first networkelement in the first communications system separately queries a userdata management network element in the first communications system forthe first subscription information, and queries a user data managementnetwork element in the second communications system for the secondsubscription information. Therefore, the first network element in thefirst communications system may pre-store the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information. In another possibledesign, after step 200, before step 210, the first network element inthe first communications system sends a fourth message to a co-locateduser data management network element, and the fourth message is used toquery the first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation. Alternatively, the first network element in the firstcommunications system separately queries a user data management networkelement in the first communications system for the first subscriptioninformation, and queries a user data management network element in thesecond communications system for the second subscription information.Therefore, the first network element in the first communications systemmay query the first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation in real time. It should be understood that the co-locateduser data management network element may be the HSS+UDM shown in FIG. 1.In addition, before obtaining the first subscription information and thesecond subscription information, the first network element in the firstcommunications system may further determine a data network identity of acurrent session, then obtain, as the first subscription information,subscription information corresponding to the data network identity ofthe terminal device in the first communications system, and obtain, asthe second subscription information, subscription informationcorresponding to a data network identity that corresponds to the datanetwork identity and that is of the terminal device in the secondcommunications system.

It should be understood that an order in which the first network elementin the first communications system obtains the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information is not limited inthis application. In other words, the first network element maysimultaneously obtain the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information, or may first obtain the first subscriptioninformation and then obtain the second subscription information. In apossible design, the first network element in the first communicationssystem first obtains the first subscription information. If it isdetermined that the first subscription information exists, the firstnetwork element then obtains the second subscription information.Alternatively, if it is determined that the first subscriptioninformation does not exist, the first network element rejects a currentsession establishment request, and optionally, no longer obtains thesecond subscription information.

In a possible implementation of step 210, the first network element inthe first communications system may determine the target sessionmanagement function network element based on a capability of theterminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information. Optionally, before step 200, the first networkelement in the first communications system receives a non-access stratum(NAS) message from the terminal device, and the NAS message carriescapability information of the terminal device. Alternatively, the firstmessage carries capability information of the terminal device. Forexample, the capability information of the terminal device includesinformation about whether the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and information about whether the terminal devicesupports the second communications system. Alternatively, the capabilityinformation of the terminal device includes indication informationindicating whether the terminal device supports the first communicationssystem and the second communications system. Therefore, the firstnetwork element in the first communications system may determine, basedon the capability information of the terminal device, whether theterminal device supports the first communications system and the secondcommunications system.

A process in which the first network element in the first communicationssystem determines the target session management function network elementbased on the capability of the terminal device, the first subscriptioninformation, and the second subscription information is described belowwith reference to specific application scenarios.

Scenario 1: The first communications system is a 4G system, the secondcommunications system is a 5G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an MME.

The scenario 1 may include two possible cases.

In a first possible case, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, and both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude subscription information corresponding to a data networkidentity of the session, the MME selects a co-located session managementfunction network element as the target session management networkelement, for example, the SMF+PGW-C shown in FIG. 1.

In a second possible case, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, the firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session, the MME selects a sessionmanagement function network element in the 4G system as the targetsession management network element, for example, the PGW-C shown in FIG.1.

In the foregoing two possible cases, the MME needs to determine thetarget session management network element using two determining steps.An order of performing the two determining steps is not limited in thisapplication.

One determining step is determining whether the terminal device supportsthe first communications system and the second communications system.For example, the MME may determine, based on the capability informationof the terminal device, that the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system.

The other determining step is determining whether both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includethe subscription information corresponding to the data network identityof the session.

First, the MME needs to determine the data network identity of thesession. When the first communications system is the 4G system and thesecond communications system is the 5G system, the data network identityof the session is an access point name (APN). A specific APN determiningmanner is not limited in this application. In a possible design, thefirst message carries the data network identity of the session, and theMME may determine the data network identity of the session based on thefirst message. In another possible design, the first message does notcarry the data network identity, and the MME may determine an APN, forexample, a default APN, or determine a configured APN for the sessionbased on a local policy, a local configuration, or the like. Thefollowing method of determining the data network identity of the sessionby the MME is consistent with the method herein. Repeated content is notdescribed again.

In a first implementation, the MME determines or obtains the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information basedon the determined APN. In this case, the first subscription informationis subscription information of the APN of the terminal device in the 4Gsystem, or may be indication information that indicates whether theterminal device subscribes to the APN. The second subscriptioninformation is subscription information of a data network name (DNN)that corresponds to the APN and that is of the terminal device in the 5Gsystem, or may be indication information that indicates whether theterminal device subscribes to the DNN, and the APN corresponds to theDNN. Alternatively, the second subscription information is subscriptioninformation of a DNN+single network slice selection assistanceinformation (S-NSSAI) that corresponds to the APN and that is of theterminal device in the 5G system, or may be indication information thatindicates whether the terminal device subscribes to the DNN+S-NSSAI, andthe APN corresponds to the DNN+S-NSSAI. For example, for the firstpossibility, a manner in which the MME determines that both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includethe subscription information corresponding to the data network identityof the session is as follows. The terminal device has the subscriptioninformation of the APN in the 4G system, and the terminal device has thesubscription information of the DNN that corresponds to the APN and thatis in the 5G system. Alternatively, the terminal device has thesubscription information of the APN in the 4G system, and the terminaldevice has the subscription information of the DNN+S-NSSAI thatcorresponds to the APN and that is in the 5G system.

For the second possibility, a manner in which the MME determines thatthe first subscription information includes the subscription informationcorresponding to the data network identity of the session, and that thesecond subscription information does not include the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the data network identity of the session isas follows. The terminal device has the subscription information of theAPN in the 4G system, and the terminal device has no subscriptioninformation of the DNN that corresponds to the APN and that is in the 5Gsystem. Alternatively, the terminal device has the subscriptioninformation of the APN in the 4G system, and the terminal device has nosubscription information of the DNN+S-NSSAI that corresponds to the APNand that is in the 5G system. It should be noted that the subscriptioninformation of the DNN+S-NSSAI in this application is subscriptioninformation having a granularity of a DNN plus S-NSSAI. Subscriptioninformation of a DNN+S-NSSAI below has a same meaning as thesubscription information of the DNN+S-NSSAI herein. Repeated content isnot described again.

In a second possible implementation, the MME first obtains allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 4G system and allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 5G system. Inthis case, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to each APN to which the terminal devicesubscribes in the 4G system, and the second subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to each DNN to which theterminal device subscribes in the 5G system, or the second subscriptioninformation includes subscription information corresponding to eachDNN+S-NSSAI to which the terminal device subscribes in the 5G system.For the first possibility, a manner in which the MME determines thatboth the first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation include the subscription information corresponding to thedata network identity of the session is as follows. The MME determinesthat the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the APN, and the second subscriptioninformation includes subscription information of a DNN corresponding tothe APN. Alternatively, the first subscription information includessubscription information corresponding to the APN, and the secondsubscription information includes subscription information of aDNN+S-NSSAI corresponding to the APN.

For the second possibility, a manner in which the MME determines thatthe first subscription information includes the subscription informationcorresponding to the data network identity of the session, and that thesecond subscription information does not include the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the data network identity of the session isas follows. The MME determines that the first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to the APN, and that thesecond subscription information does not include subscriptioninformation of a DNN corresponding to the APN. Alternatively, the MMEdetermines that the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the APN, and that the second subscriptioninformation does not include subscription information of a DNN+S-NSSAIcorresponding to the APN.

In a third possible implementation, the MME first obtains allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 4G system, andthe first subscription information includes subscription informationcorresponding to each APN to which the terminal device subscribes in the4G system. Then the MME determines or obtains the second subscriptioninformation based on the determined APN, and the second subscriptioninformation is subscription information of a DNN that corresponds to theAPN and that is of the terminal device in the 5G system, or may beindication information that indicates whether the terminal devicesubscribes to the DNN. Alternatively, the second subscriptioninformation is subscription information of a DNN+S-NSSAI thatcorresponds to the APN and that is of the terminal device in the 5Gsystem, or may be indication information that indicates whether theterminal device subscribes to the DNN+S-NSSAI. For the firstpossibility, a manner in which the MME determines that both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includethe subscription information corresponding to the data network identityof the session is as follows. The first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to the APN, and theterminal device has the subscription information of the DNN thatcorresponds to the APN and that is in the 5G system. Alternatively, thefirst subscription information includes subscription informationcorresponding to the APN, and the terminal device has the subscriptioninformation of the DNN+S-NSSAI that corresponds to the APN and that isin the 5G system. For the second possibility, a manner in which the MMEdetermines that the first subscription information includes thesubscription information corresponding to the data network identity ofthe session, and that the second subscription information does notinclude the subscription information corresponding to the data networkidentity of the session is as follows. The first subscriptioninformation includes subscription information corresponding to the APN,and the terminal device has no subscription information of the DNN thatcorresponds to the APN and that is in the 5G system. Alternatively, thefirst subscription information includes subscription informationcorresponding to the APN, and the terminal device has no subscriptioninformation of the DNN+S-NSSAI that corresponds to the APN and that isin the 5G system.

It should be understood that subscription information corresponding toall APNs included in the first subscription information is not in aone-to-one correspondence with subscription information of DNNs in thesecond subscription information, and subscription information of onlysome APNs is in a one-to-one correspondence with subscriptioninformation of DNNs in the 5G system. Likewise, subscription informationcorresponding to all APNs included in the first subscription informationis not in a one-to-one correspondence with subscription information ofDNNs+S-NSSAI in the second subscription information, and subscriptioninformation of only some APNs is in a one-to-one correspondence withsubscription information of DNNs+S-NSSAI in the 5G system.

In a fourth possible implementation, if the terminal device supports thefirst communications system and the second communications system, afterthe MME determines the APN, the MME sends a fifth message to aco-located user data management network element, and the fifth messageis used to query whether subscription information corresponding to a DNNcorresponding to the APN exists in subscription informationcorresponding to the APN. The MME receives a query result from theco-located user data management network element. If the query resultindicates that the subscription information corresponding to the DNNcorresponding to the APN exists in the subscription informationcorresponding to the APN, the MME selects the co-located sessionmanagement function network element. If the query result indicates thatthe subscription information corresponding to the DNN corresponding tothe APN does not exist in the subscription information corresponding tothe APN, the MME selects the session management function network elementin the 4G system. Alternatively, if the terminal device supports thefirst communications system and the second communications system, afterthe MME determines the APN, the MME sends a fifth message to aco-located user data management network element, and the fifth messageis used to query whether subscription information corresponding to aDNN+S-NSSAI corresponding to the APN exists in subscription informationcorresponding to the APN. The MME receives a query result from theco-located user data management network element. If the query resultindicates that the subscription information corresponding to theDNN+S-NSSAI corresponding to the APN exists in the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the APN, the MME selects the co-locatedsession management function network element. If the query resultindicates that the subscription information corresponding to theDNN+S-NSSAI corresponding to the APN does not exist in the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the APN, the MME selects the sessionmanagement function network element in the 4G system.

In a fifth possible implementation, the MME sends a sixth message to aco-located user data management network element, the sixth message isused to obtain a mapping relationship between an APN and a DNN, and themapping relationship indicates that subscription information of the APNcorresponds to subscription information of a DNN. The MME receives themapping relationship from the co-located user data management networkelement, and stores the mapping relationship. For example, the MME maysend the sixth message to the co-located user data management networkelement before receiving the first message from the terminal device, orthe MME may send the sixth message to the co-located user datamanagement network element after receiving the first message from theterminal device. After determining the APN, the MME queries the mappingrelationship based on the APN. If the mapping relationship indicatesthat the APN corresponds to a DNN, the MME selects the co-locatedsession management function network element. If the mapping relationshipindicates that the APN corresponds to no DNN, the MME selects thesession management function network element in the 4G system. Likewise,the foregoing design is also applicable to a case in which the APNcorresponds to a DNN and S-NSSAI. Details are not described herein.

For example, the terminal device subscribes to three APNs in the 4Gsystem, including an APN 1, an APN 2, and an APN 3, and subscribes tofour DNNs in the 5G system, including a DNN 1, a DNN 2, a DNN 3, and aDNN 4. The APN 1 corresponds to the DNN 2, and the APN 3 corresponds tothe DNN 3. In this way, the mapping relationship includes a mappingrelationship between the APN 1 and the DNN 2 and a mapping relationshipbetween the APN 3 and the DNN 3. If the MME determines the APN 2, theMME queries the mapping relationship based on the APN 2 and determinesthat the APN 2 corresponds to no DNN, and the MME selects the sessionmanagement function network element in the 4G system. If the MMEdetermines the APN 3, the MME queries the mapping relationship based onthe APN 3 and determines that a DNN corresponding to the APN 4 is theDNN 3, and the MME selects the co-located session management functionnetwork element.

Therefore, in the foregoing possible implementations, the MME may selectthe co-located session management function network element as the targetsession management function network element for a terminal device havingboth an interworking capability and an interworking requirement. The MMEmay select the session management function network element in the 4Gsystem as the target session management network element for a terminaldevice having an interworking capability but having no interworkingrequirement. That is, the terminal device does not need to use a serviceof a 5G network or does not subscribe to a service of a 5G network. Inthis way, a session requirement can be met, such that load of aco-located session management function network element can be reduced.

Scenario 2: The first communications system is a 5G system, the secondcommunications system is a 4G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an AMF.

The scenario 2 may include two possible cases.

In a first possible case, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, and both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude subscription information corresponding to a data networkidentity of the session, the AMF selects a co-located session managementfunction network element as the target session management networkelement, for example, the SMF+PGW-C shown in FIG. 1.

In a second possible case, if the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system, the firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto a data network identity of the session, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session, the AMF selects a sessionmanagement function network element in the 5G system as the targetsession management network element, and the session management functionnetwork element in the 5G system is an SMF.

Similar to the scenario 1, in the foregoing two possible cases, the AMFneeds to determine the target session management network element usingtwo determining steps. An order of performing the two determining stepsis not limited.

One determining step is determining whether the terminal device supportsthe first communications system and the second communications system.For example, the AMF may determine, based on the capability informationof the terminal device, that the terminal device supports the firstcommunications system and the second communications system.

The other determining step is determining, by the AMF, whether both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude the subscription information corresponding to the data networkidentity of the session.

First, the AMF determines the data network identity of the currentsession. When the first communications system is the 5G system and thesecond communications system is the 4G system, the data network identityof the session is a DNN, or a DNN and S-NSSAI. A specific DNNdetermining manner or a specific manner of determining the DNN andS-NSSAI is not limited in this application. In a possible design, thefirst message carries the data network identity of the session, and theAMF may determine the data network identity of the session based on thefirst message. In another possible design, the first message does notcarry the data network identity, and the AMF may determine a DNN, or aDNN and S-NSSAI, for example, a default DNN, or a default DNN andS-NSSAI, or determine a configured DNN or a configured DNN and S-NSSAIfor the session based on a local policy, a local configuration, or thelike. The following method of determining the data network identity ofthe session by the AMF is consistent with the method herein. Repeatedcontent is not described again.

In a first implementation, the AMF determines or obtains the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information basedon the determined DNN. In this case, the first subscription informationis subscription information of the DNN of the terminal device in the 5Gsystem, or may be indication information that indicates whether theterminal device subscribes to the DNN. The second subscriptioninformation is subscription information of an APN that corresponds tothe DNN and that is of the terminal device in the 4G system, and the APNcorresponds to the DNN. Alternatively, the second subscriptioninformation is subscription information of an APN that corresponds tothe DNN and S-NSSAI and that is of the terminal device in the 4G system,and the APN corresponds to the DNN+S-NSSAI, or the second subscriptioninformation may be indication information that indicates whether theterminal device subscribes to the APN. For example, for the firstpossibility, a manner in which the AMF determines that both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includethe subscription information corresponding to the data network identityof the session is as follows. The terminal device has the subscriptioninformation of the DNN in the 5G system, and the terminal device has thesubscription information of the APN that corresponds to the DNN and thatis in the 4G system. Alternatively, the terminal device has subscriptioninformation of the DNN+S-NSSAI in the 5G system, and the terminal devicehas the subscription information of the APN that corresponds to theDNN+S-NSSAI and that is in the 4G system. For the second possibility, amanner in which the AMF determines that the first subscriptioninformation includes the subscription information corresponding to thedata network identity of the session, and that the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session is as follows. The terminaldevice has the subscription information of the DNN in the 5G system, andthe terminal device has no subscription information of the APN thatcorresponds to the DNN and that is in the 4G system. Alternatively, theterminal device has subscription information of the DNN+S-NSSAI in the5G system, and the terminal device has no subscription information ofthe APN that corresponds to the DNN+S-NSSAI and that is in the 4Gsystem.

In a second possible implementation, the AMF first obtains allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 4G system and allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 5G system. Inthis case, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to each DNN to which the terminal devicesubscribes in the 5G system, or the first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to each DNN+S-NSSAI towhich the terminal device subscribes in the 5G system. The secondsubscription information includes subscription information of each APNto which the terminal device subscribes in the 4G system. For the firstpossibility, a manner in which the AMF determines that both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includethe subscription information corresponding to the data network identityof the session is as follows. The AMF determines that the firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto the DNN, and that the second subscription information includessubscription information of an APN corresponding to the DNN.Alternatively, the AMF determines that the first subscriptioninformation includes subscription information corresponding to theDNN+S-NSSAI, and that the second subscription information includessubscription information of an APN corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI. Forthe second possibility, a manner in which the AMF determines that thefirst subscription information includes the subscription informationcorresponding to the data network identity of the session, and that thesecond subscription information does not include the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the data network identity of the session isas follows. The AMF determines that the first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to the DNN, and that thesecond subscription information does not include subscriptioninformation of an APN corresponding to the DNN. Alternatively, the AMFdetermines that the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI, and that the secondsubscription information does not include subscription information of anAPN corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI.

In a third possible implementation, the AMF first obtains allsubscription information of the terminal device in the 5G system, andthe first subscription information includes subscription information ofeach DNN to which the terminal device subscribes in the 5G system, orthe first subscription information includes subscription informationcorresponding to each DNN+S-NSSAI to which the terminal devicesubscribes in the 5G system. The AMF determines or obtains the secondsubscription information based on the determined DNN or the determinedDNN+S-NSSA, and the second subscription information is subscriptioninformation of an APN that corresponds to the DNN or the DNN+S-NSSA andthat is of the terminal device in the 4G system, or may be indicationinformation that indicates whether the terminal device subscribes to theAPN. For the first possibility, a manner in which the AMF determinesthat both the first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation include the subscription information corresponding to thedata network identity of the session is as follows. The firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto the DNN, and the terminal device has subscription information of theAPN that corresponds to the DNN and that is in the 4G system.Alternatively, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI, and the terminal devicehas subscription information of the APN that corresponds to theDNN+S-NSSAI and that is in the 4G system. For the second possibility, amanner in which the AMF determines that the first subscriptioninformation includes the subscription information corresponding to thedata network identity of the session, and that the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the data network identity of the session is as follows. The firstsubscription information includes subscription information correspondingto the DNN, and the terminal device has no subscription information ofthe APN that corresponds to the DNN and that is in the 4G system.Alternatively, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI, and the terminal devicehas no subscription information of the APN that corresponds to theDNN+S-NSSAI and that is in the 4G system.

It should be understood that subscription information corresponding toall DNNs included in the first subscription information is not in aone-to-one correspondence with subscription information of APNs in thesecond subscription information, and subscription information of onlysome DNNs is in a one-to-one correspondence with subscriptioninformation of APNs in the 4G system. Likewise, subscription informationcorresponding to all DNNs+S-NSSAI included in the first subscriptioninformation is not in a one-to-one correspondence with subscriptioninformation of APNs in the second subscription information, andsubscription information of only some DNNs+S-NSSAI is in a one-to-onecorrespondence with subscription information of APNs in the 4G system.

In a fourth possible implementation, if the terminal device supports thefirst communications system and the second communications system, afterthe AMF determines the DNN, the AMF sends a seventh message to aco-located user data management network element, and the seventh messageis used to query whether subscription information corresponding to anAPN corresponding to the DNN exists in subscription informationcorresponding to the DNN. The AMF receives a query result from theco-located user data management network element. If the query resultindicates that it is determined that the subscription informationcorresponding to the APN corresponding to the DNN exists, the AMFselects the co-located session management function network element. Ifthe query result indicates that the subscription informationcorresponding to the APN corresponding to the DNN does not exist in thesubscription information corresponding to the DNN, the AMF selects thesession management function network element in the 5G system.Alternatively, if the terminal device supports the first communicationssystem and the second communications system, after the AMF determinesthe DNN+S-NSSAI, the AMF sends a seventh message to a co-located userdata management network element, and the seventh message is used toquery whether subscription information of an APN corresponding to theDNN+S-NSSAI exists in subscription information corresponding to theDNN+S-NSSAI. The AMF receives a query result from the co-located userdata management network element. If the query result indicates that itis determined that the subscription information corresponding to the APNcorresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI exists, the AMF selects the co-locatedsession management function network element. If the query resultindicates that the subscription information corresponding to the APNcorresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI does not exist in the subscriptioninformation corresponding to the DNN+S-NSSAI, the AMF selects thesession management function network element in the 5G system.

In a fifth possible implementation, if the terminal device supports thefirst communications system and the second communications system, theAMF sends an eighth message to a co-located user data management networkelement. The eighth message is used to obtain a mapping relationshipbetween a DNN and an APN, and the AMF receives the mapping relationshipfrom the co-located user data management network element, and stores themapping relationship. For example, the AMF may send the eighth messageto the co-located user data management network element before receivingthe first message from the terminal device. Alternatively, the AMF maysend the eighth message to the co-located user data management networkelement after receiving the first message from the terminal device.After determining the DNN, the AMF queries the mapping relationshipbased on the DNN. If the mapping relationship indicates that the DNNcorresponds to an APN, the AMF selects the co-located session managementfunction network element. If the mapping relationship indicates that theDNN corresponds to no APN, the AMF selects the session managementfunction network element in the 5G system. Likewise, the foregoingdesign is also applicable to a case in which the DNN+S-NSSAI correspondsto the APN. Details are not described herein.

For example, the terminal device subscribes to three APNs in the 4Gsystem, including an APN 1, an APN 2, and an APN 3, and subscribes tofour DNNs in the 5G system, including a DNN 1, a DNN 2, a DNN 3, and aDNN 4. The APN 1 corresponds to the DNN 2, and the APN 3 corresponds tothe DNN 3. In this way, the mapping relationship includes a mappingrelationship between the APN 1 and the DNN 2 and a mapping relationshipbetween the APN 3 and the DNN 3. If the AMF determines the DNN 2, theAMF queries the mapping relationship based on the DNN 2 and determinesthat an APN corresponding to the DNN 2 is the APN 1, and the AMF selectsthe co-located session management function network element. If the AMFdetermines the DNN 1, the AMF queries the mapping relationship based onthe DNN 1 and determines that the DNN 1 corresponds to no APN, and theAMF selects the session management function network element in the 5Gsystem.

Therefore, in the foregoing possible implementations, the AMF may selectthe co-located session management function network element as the targetsession management function network element for a terminal device havingboth an interworking capability and an interworking requirement. The AMFmay select the session management function network element in the 5Gsystem as the target session management network element for a terminaldevice having an interworking capability but having no interworkingrequirement. That is, the terminal device does not need to use a serviceof a 4G network or does not subscribe to a service of a 4G network. Inthis way, a session requirement can be met, such that load of theco-located session management function network element can be reduced.

In addition, the first network element in the first communicationssystem may further determine a second message based on the capability ofthe terminal device, the first subscription information, and the secondsubscription information, and send the second message to the targetsession management function network element, such that the targetsession management function network element determines a policy controlnetwork element and a charging system based on the second message. Thesecond message includes instruction information instructing the targetsession management function network element to select a co-locatedpolicy control network element and a co-located charging system, or apolicy control network element and a charging system that are in thefirst communications system.

The scenario 1 and the scenario 2 are separately described below.

Scenario 1: The first communications system is a 4G system, the secondcommunications system is a 5G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an MME.

If the terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, the first subscription informationincludes the subscription information corresponding to the data networkidentity of the session, and the second subscription information doesnot include the subscription information corresponding to the datanetwork identity of the session, the MME selects a co-located sessionmanagement function network element, and the MME sends the secondmessage to the co-located session management function network element,such that the co-located session management function network elementdetermines, based on the second message, that a policy control networkelement and a charging system are a policy control network element and acharging system that are in the 4G system. The second message includesthe instruction information instructing the co-located sessionmanagement function network element to select the policy control networkelement and the charging system that are in the 4G system. Therefore,the MME may instruct, using the second message, the co-located sessionmanagement function network element to select the policy control networkelement and the charging system that are in the 4G system for a terminaldevice that has an interworking capability but has no interworkingrequirement. In other words, the terminal device does not need to use aservice of the 5G network or does not subscribe to a service of the 5Gnetwork, such that load of the co-located policy control network elementand load of the co-located charging system can be reduced.

For example, in possible networking, all PGW-Cs are upgraded toSMFs+PGW-Cs, but a policy control network element and a charging systemnetwork element are not upgraded, in other words, a policy controlnetwork element in 4G may be a PCRF, and charging system networkelements in 4G may be an OCS and an OFCS. In this case, even though theMME selects an SMF+PGW-C, the SMF+PGW-C is unaware that UE has nointerworking requirement currently, in other words, the UE is not toaccess the 5G system. Therefore, the MME may send the second message tothe SMF+PGW-C, and the second message includes instruction informationinstructing the SMF+PGW-C to select and access the policy controlnetwork element and the charging system that are in 4G.

It should be understood that, usually, when the MME selects the sessionmanagement function network element in 4G, the session managementfunction network element in 4G selects the policy control networkelement and the charging system that are in 4G When the MME selects theco-located session management function network element, the co-locatedsession management function network element selects the co-locatedpolicy control network element and the co-located charging system.However, according to the method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, the MME may instruct the co-located session managementfunction network element to select the policy control network elementand the charging system that are in the 4G system, such that load of theco-located policy control network element and load of the co-locatedcharging system can be reduced.

Scenario 2: The first communications system is a 5G system, the secondcommunications system is a 4G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an AMF.

If the terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, the first subscription informationincludes the subscription information corresponding to the data networkidentity of the session, and the second subscription information doesnot include the subscription information corresponding to the datanetwork identity of the session, the AMF selects a co-located sessionmanagement function network element, and the AMF sends the secondmessage to the co-located session management function network element.Thus way, the co-located session management function network elementdetermines, based on the second message, that a policy control networkelement and a charging system are a policy control network element and acharging system that are in 5G The second message includes theinstruction information instructing the co-located session managementfunction network element to select the policy control network elementand the charging system that are in the 5G system. Therefore, the AMFmay instruct, using the second message, the co-located sessionmanagement function network element to select the policy control networkelement and the charging system that are in the 5G system for a terminaldevice that has an interworking capability but has no interworkingrequirement. In other words, the terminal device does not need to use aservice of the 4G network or does not subscribe to a service of the 4Gnetwork, such that load of the co-located policy control network elementand load of the co-located charging system can be reduced.

For example, in possible networking, deployment of a pure SMF device hasnot started, in other words, all SMFs+PGW-Cs are obtained by upgradingPGW-Cs, but a policy control network element and a chargingsystem-related network element are not upgraded. Therefore, the AMF canselect only an SMF+PGW-C. The AMF sends the second message to theSMF+PGW-C, and the second message includes the instruction informationinstructing the SMF+PGW-C to select and access the policy controlnetwork element and the charging system that are in 5G, for example, aPCF.

It should be understood that, usually, when the AMF selects the sessionmanagement function network element in 5G, the session managementfunction network element in 5G selects the policy control networkelement and the charging system that are in 5G When the AMF selects theco-located session management function network element, the co-locatedsession management function network element selects the co-locatedpolicy control network element and the co-located charging system.However, according to the method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, the AMF may instruct the co-located session managementfunction network element to select the policy control network elementand the charging system that are in the 5G system, such that load of theco-located policy control network element and load of the co-locatedcharging system can be reduced.

A network element selection process in this embodiment of thisapplication is described below with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a process 1 in which UE establishes a session connection ina 4G network.

Step 301: An MME obtains UE capability information. In a possibledesign, in an attach procedure or track area update (TAU) procedure, theUE sends a NAS message to the MME. The NAS message carries the UEcapability information (UE capabilities), and the UE capabilitiesinclude information about whether the UE supports a 4G system,information about whether the UE supports a 5G system, and the like, orthe UE capabilities include indication information indicating whetherthe UE supports both a 4G system and a 5G system. The MME stores the UEcapabilities.

Step 302: The UE sends a session request message to the MME, and thesession request message may also be included in an attach request. Thesession request message may be a NAS message.

Step 303: The MME determines an APN. In a possible design, the sessionrequest message carries the APN. In another possible design, the sessionrequest message does not carry the APN, and the MME may determine anAPN, for example, a default APN.

Step 304: The MME determines a target session management functionnetwork element based on the UE capability information, firstsubscription information, and second subscription information. If theterminal device supports the 4G system and the 5G system, and both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude subscription information corresponding to the APN, the MMEperforms step 305 a. If the terminal device supports the 4G system andthe 5G system, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the APN, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the APN, the MME performs step 305 b. It should be understood that,for a process in which the MME determines the target session managementfunction network element based on the UE capability information, thefirst subscription information, and the second subscription information,reference may be made to the possible implementation in the scenario 1.Repeated content is not described again.

In a possible design, before step 302, for example, in the attachprocedure or TAU procedure, the MME sends a third message to an HSS+UDM,and the third message is used to obtain the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information. The MME stores thefirst subscription information and the second subscription information.In another possible design, after step 303, the MME sends a fourthmessage to the HSS+UDM, and the fourth message is used to query thefirst subscription information and the second subscription information.

Step 305 a: The MME selects an SMF+PGW-C as the target sessionmanagement network element, and sends a session request message to theSMF+PGW-C.

Step 305 b: The MME selects a PGW-C as the target session managementnetwork element, and sends a session request message to the PGW-C.

A subsequent session establishment procedure mainly includesconfiguration of radio resources, establishment of a user plane tunnel,and the like. For details, refer to other approaches.

FIG. 4 shows a process 2 in which UE establishes a session connection ina 4G network. All PGW-Cs are upgraded to SMFs+PGW-Cs, but a policycontrol network element and a charging system-related network elementare not upgraded. The policy control network element in 4G is a PCRF,charging system network elements in 4G are an OCS and an OFCS, and apolicy control network element and a charging system that are in 5G arePCFs.

Step 401 to step 403 are the same as step 301 to step 303.

Step 404: The MME determines a target policy control network element anda target charging system based on the UE capability information, firstsubscription information, and second subscription information. If theterminal device supports a 4G system and a 5G system, and both the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information includesubscription information corresponding to the APN, the MME performs step405 a. If the terminal device supports the 4G system and the 5G system,the first subscription information includes subscription informationcorresponding to the APN, and the second subscription information doesnot include the subscription information corresponding to the APN, theMME performs step 405 b.

Step 405 a: The MME sends a session request message to an SMF+PGW-C. Thesession request message may not carry instruction information, or maycarry first instruction information. The first instruction informationinstructs the SMF+PGW-C to select a co-located policy control networkelement and a co-located charging system. Therefore, the target policycontrol network element and the target charging system are theco-located policy control network element and the co-located chargingsystem.

Step 405 b: The MME sends a session request message to the SMF+PGW-C,the session request message carries second instruction information, andthe second instruction information instructs the SMF+PGW-C to select apolicy control network element and a charging system that are in 4GTherefore, the target policy control network element and the targetcharging system are the policy control network element and the chargingsystem that are in 4G.

FIG. 5 shows a process 1 in which UE establishes a session connection ina 5G network. Only an example in which a DNN corresponds to an APN isused below for description. A processing procedure in which aDNN+S-NSSAI corresponds to an APN is similar. Details are not describedherein again.

Step 501: An AMF obtains UE capability information. In a possibledesign, in a registration procedure or re-registration procedure, the UEsends a NAS message to the AMF. The NAS message carries the UEcapability information (UE capabilities), and the UE capabilitiesinclude information about whether the UE supports a 4G system,information about whether the UE supports a 5G system, and the like, orthe UE capabilities include indication information indicating whetherthe UE supports both a 4G system and a 5G system. The AMF stores the UEcapabilities.

Step 502: The UE sends a session request message to the AMF, and thesession request message is a NAS message.

Step 503: The AMF determines a DNN. In a possible design, the sessionrequest message carries the DNN. In another possible design, the sessionrequest message does not carry the DNN, and the AMF may determine a DNN,for example, a default DNN.

Step 504: The AMF determines a target session management functionnetwork element based on the UE capability information, firstsubscription information, and second subscription information. If theterminal device supports the 4G system and the 5G system, and both thefirst subscription information and the second subscription informationinclude subscription information corresponding to the DNN, the AMFperforms step 505 a. If the terminal device supports the 4G system andthe 5G system, the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation corresponding to the DNN, and the second subscriptioninformation does not include the subscription information correspondingto the DNN, the AMF performs step 505 b. It should be understood that,for a process in which the AMF determines the target session managementfunction network element based on the UE capability information, thefirst subscription information, and the second subscription information,reference may be made to the possible implementation in the scenario 2.Repeated content is not described again.

In a possible design, before step 502, for example, in the registrationprocedure or re-registration procedure, the AMF sends a third message toan HSS+UDM, and the third message is used to obtain the firstsubscription information and the second subscription information. TheAMF stores the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information. In another possible design, after step 503,the AMF sends a fourth message to the HSS+UDM, and the fourth message isused to query the first subscription information and the secondsubscription information.

Step 505 a: The AMF selects an SMF+PGW-C as the target sessionmanagement network element, and sends a session request message to theSMF+PGW-C.

Step 505 b: The AMF selects an SMF as the target session managementnetwork element, and sends a session request message to the SMF.

A subsequent session establishment procedure mainly includesconfiguration of radio resources, establishment of a user plane tunnel,and the like. For details, refer to other approaches.

FIG. 6 shows a process 2 in which UE establishes a session connection ina 5G network. Deployment of a pure SMF device has not started, in otherwords, all SMFs+PGW-Cs are obtained by upgrading PGW-Cs, but a policycontrol network element and a charging system-related network elementare not upgraded. For example, a policy control network element in 4G isa PCRF, and charging systems in 4G are an OCS and an OFCS. There is anindependent policy control network element and an independent chargingsystem in 5G, for example, a PCF.

Step 601 to step 603 are the same as step 501 to step 503.

Step 604: The AMF determines a target policy control network element anda target charging system based on the UE capability information, thefirst subscription information, and the second subscription information.If the terminal device supports a 4G system and a 5G system, and boththe first subscription information and the second subscriptioninformation include subscription information corresponding to the DNN,the AMF performs step 605 a. If the terminal device supports a 4G systemand a 5G system, the first subscription information includessubscription information corresponding to the DNN, and the secondsubscription information does not include the subscription informationcorresponding to the DNN, the AMF performs step 605 b.

Step 605 a: The AMF sends a session request message to an SMF+PGW-C. Thesession request message may not carry instruction information, or maycarry first instruction information. The first instruction informationinstructs the SMF+PGW-C to select a co-located policy control networkelement and a co-located charging system. Therefore, the target policycontrol network element and the target charging system are theco-located policy control network element and the co-located chargingsystem.

Step 605 b: The AMF sends a session request message to the SMF+PGW-C,the session request message carries second instruction information, andthe second instruction information instructs the SMF+PGW-C to select andaccess a policy control network element and a charging system that arein 5G Therefore, the target policy control network element and thetarget charging system are the policy control network element and thecharging system that are in 5G.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, an embodiment of this applicationprovides a network element selection apparatus. As shown in FIG. 7, theapparatus 700 includes: a receiving unit 701 configured to receive afirst message from a terminal device, where the first message is used torequest to establish a session; and a processing unit 702 configuredsuch that in response to the first message, the processing unit 702determines a target session management function network element based onfirst subscription information and second subscription information,where the first subscription information includes subscriptioninformation of the terminal device in the first communications system,and the second subscription information includes subscriptioninformation of the terminal device in a second communications system.

In a possible design, the processing unit 702 is configured to determinethe target session management function network element based on acapability of the terminal device, the first subscription information,and the second subscription information.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the apparatus is anMME. Additionally, the processing unit 702 is configured such that ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, and both the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information include subscriptioninformation corresponding to a data network identity of the session, theprocessing unit 702 selects a co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management network element.Further, a network element having a session management capability of the5G system and a session management capability of the 4G system is theco-located session management function network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 4G system,the second communications system is a 5G system, and the apparatus is anMME. Additionally, the processing unit 702 is configured such that ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, the first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to a data networkidentity of the session, and the second subscription information doesnot include the subscription information corresponding to the datanetwork identity of the session, the processing unit 702 selects asession management function network element in the 4G system as thetarget session management network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the apparatus is anAMF. Additionally, the processing unit 702 is configured such that ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, and both the first subscriptioninformation and the second subscription information include subscriptioninformation corresponding to a data network identity of the session, theprocessing unit 702 selects a co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management network element.Further, a network element having a session management capability of the5G system and a session management capability of the 4G system is theco-located session management function network element.

In a possible design, the first communications system is a 5G system,the second communications system is a 4G system, and the apparatus is anAMF. Additionally, the processing unit 702 is configured such that ifthe terminal device supports the first communications system and thesecond communications system, the first subscription informationincludes subscription information corresponding to a data networkidentity of the session, and the second subscription information doesnot include the subscription information corresponding to the datanetwork identity of the session, the processing unit 702 selects asession management function network element in the 5G system as thetarget session management network element.

In a possible design, the apparatus further includes a sending unit 703configured to send a second message to the target session managementfunction network element, such that the target session managementfunction network element determines a policy control network element anda charging system based on the second message.

It can be understood that, for implementations of function modulesincluded in the network element selection apparatus in FIG. 7 andcorresponding benefits, reference may be made to the descriptions of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2. Details are not described herein.

It should be understood that division of the units is merely division oflogical functions, and during actual implementation, all or some of theunits may be integrated into one physical entity, or may be physicallyseparated. In addition, these units may all be implemented usingsoftware through invoking by a processing element, or may all beimplemented in a form of hardware. Alternatively, some units areimplemented using software through invoking by a processing element, andsome units are implemented in a form of hardware. During implementation,steps in the foregoing methods or the foregoing units can be implementedusing a hardware integrated logic circuit in a processing element, orusing instructions in a form of software.

For example, the foregoing units may be configured as one or moreintegrated circuits for implementing the foregoing methods, for example,one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), or one ormore microprocessors (DSP), or one or more field programmable gatearrays (FPGA). For another example, when one of the foregoing units isimplemented by invoking a program by a processing element, theprocessing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or another processor that can invoke the program.For another example, these units may be integrated together, and areimplemented in a form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

In another optional variant, an embodiment of this application providesa network element selection apparatus. For example, the network elementselection apparatus may be a chip, the apparatus includes a processorand an interface, and the interface may be an input/output interface.The processor implements the functions of the processing unit 702, andthe interface implements the functions of the receiving unit 701 and thefunctions of the sending unit 703. The apparatus may further include amemory. The memory is configured to store a program that can run on theprocessor. When the processor executes the program, the method of theembodiment shown in FIG. 2 is performed.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, an embodiment of this applicationfurther provides a first network element 800 in a first communicationssystem. As shown in FIG. 8, the network element 800 includes atransceiver 801, a processor 802, and a memory 803. The memory 803 isconfigured to store a computer program. The processor 802 invokes thecomputer program stored in the memory 803, and performs, using thetransceiver 801, the method shown in FIG. 2. The processor may be a CPU,a network processor (NP), a hardware chip, or any combination thereof.The memory may include a volatile memory, for example, a random accessmemory (RAM). Alternatively, the memory may include a non-volatilememory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard diskdrive (HDD), or a solid-state drive (SSD). Alternatively, the memory mayinclude a combination of the foregoing types of memories.

It can be understood that the apparatus in the embodiment shown in FIG.7 may be implemented using the network element 800 shown in FIG. 8. Forexample, the processing unit 702 may be implemented by the processor802, and the receiving unit 701 and the sending unit 703 may beimplemented by the transceiver 801. A structure of the network element800 does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of thisapplication.

FIG. 9 shows a process 1 in which a UE establishes a session connectionin a 4G network.

Step 901: An MME obtains UE capability information. In a possibledesign, in an attach procedure or track area update (TAU) procedure, theUE sends a NAS message to the MME. The NAS message carries the UEcapability information, and the UE capabilities include informationabout whether the UE supports a 4G system, information about whether theUE supports a 5G system, and the like. Alternatively, the UEcapabilities include indication information indicating whether the UEsupports both a 4G system and a 5G system. The MME stores the UEcapabilities.

Step 902: The UE sends a session request message to the MME, and thesession request message may also be included in an attach request. Thesession request message may be a NAS message.

Step 903: The MME determines an APN. In a possible design, the sessionrequest message in step 902 carries the APN. In another possible design,the session request message does not carry the APN, and the MME maydetermine an APN, for example, a default APN. An APN determining manneris described above. Details are not described again.

Step 904: The MME determines a target session management functionnetwork element based on the UE capability information (or referred toas a capability of a terminal) and third subscription information. Forexample, if the capability of the terminal indicates that the UEsupports the 4G system and the 5G system, and the third subscription ofthe terminal indicates that a data network identity (e.g., an APN)corresponding to the session supports interworking with the 5G system(or referred to as a 5GC), the MME selects a co-located sessionmanagement function network element as the target session managementnetwork element, and performs step 905 a. Optionally, that the thirdsubscription of the terminal indicates that a data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with the 5G system(or referred to as a 5GC) further includes: The third subscriptioninformation of the terminal is indication information indicating thatthe data network identity corresponding to the session supportsinterworking with a DNN and a network slice identification S-NSSAI. Theco-located session management function network element may be a networkelement having both a session management capability of the 4G system anda session management capability of the 5G system, for example, anSMF+PGW-C. If the capability of the terminal indicates that the UEsupports the 4G system and the 5G system, and the third subscriptioninformation indicates that a data network identity of the session doesnot support interworking with the 5G system, the MME does not select aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management network element, and performs step 905 b. That theMME does not select a co-located session management function networkelement as the target session management network element includes:selecting, by the MME as the target session management network element,a session management function network element that is not specially usedfor interworking, for example, a PGW-C or a PGW in a pure 4G system.Therefore, the MME may select the co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management function networkelement for a terminal device having both an interworking capability andan interworking requirement.

In addition, the MME may further determine a second message based on thecapability of the terminal device and the third subscriptioninformation, and send the second message to the target sessionmanagement function network element, such that the target sessionmanagement function network element determines a policy control networkelement and a charging system based on the second message. The secondmessage includes instruction information instructing the target sessionmanagement function network element to select a co-located policycontrol network element and a co-located charging system, or a policycontrol network element and a charging system that are in the firstcommunications system. For a process, refer to the embodimentcorresponding to FIG. 4.

Step 905 a: The MME selects an SMF+PGW-C as the target sessionmanagement network element, and sends a session request message to theSMF+PGW-C.

Step 905 b: The MME selects a PGW-C as the target session managementnetwork element, and sends a session request message to the PGW-C.

A subsequent session establishment procedure mainly includesconfiguration of radio resources, establishment of a user plane tunnel,and the like. For details, refer to other approaches.

Therefore, the MME may select a session management function networkelement in the 4G system as the target session management networkelement for a terminal device having an interworking capability buthaving no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal device doesnot support interworking with 5G In this way, a session requirement canbe met, such that load of the co-located session management functionnetwork element can be reduced. Optionally, the MME may instruct theco-located session management network element to select a policy controlnetwork element and a charging system that are in the 4G system for aterminal device having an interworking capability but having nointerworking requirement. That is, the terminal device does not supportinterworking with 5G, such that load of the co-located policy controlnetwork element and load of the co-located charging system can bereduced.

Further, it can be understood that, for content that is not clearlydescribed in the descriptions in the embodiment corresponding to FIG. 9,reference may be made to an explanation of the foregoing embodiments.

In addition, a logical structure of the MME in FIG. 9 may be shown inFIG. 7, and the steps described in FIG. 9 may be implemented using theprocessing unit, the receiving unit, and the sending unit that are inFIG. 7. It can be understood that the apparatus in the embodiment shownin FIG. 7 may be implemented using the network element 800 shown in FIG.8. For example, the processing unit 702 may be implemented by theprocessor 802, and the receiving unit 701 and the sending unit 703 maybe implemented by the transceiver 801. A structure of the networkelement 800 does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of thisapplication.

FIG. 10 shows a process 1 in which a UE establishes a session connectionin a 5G network.

Step 1001: An AMF obtains UE capability information. In a possibledesign, in a registration procedure or re-registration procedure, the UEsends a NAS message to the AMF. The NAS message carries the UEcapability information (UE capabilities), and the UE capabilitiesinclude information about whether the UE supports a 4G system,information about whether the UE supports a 5G system, and the like.Alternatively, the UE capabilities include indication informationindicating whether the UE supports both a 4G system and a 5G system. TheAMF stores the UE capabilities.

Step 1002: The UE sends a session request message to the AMF, and thesession request message is a NAS message.

Step 1003: The AMF determines a DNN. In a possible design, the sessionrequest message in step 1002 carries the DNN. In another possibledesign, the session request message does not carry the DNN, and the AMFmay determine an APN, for example, a default DNN. A DNN determiningmanner is described above. Details are not described again.

Step 1004: The AMF determines a target session management functionnetwork element based on the UE capability information (or referred toas a capability of a terminal) and third subscription information. Forexample, if the capability of the terminal indicates that the UEsupports the 4G system and the 5G system, and the third subscription ofthe terminal indicates that a data network identity (e.g., a DNN)corresponding to the session supports interworking with the 4G system(or referred to as an EPS or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) system), theAMF selects a co-located session management function network element asthe target session management network element, and performs step 1005 a.Optionally, that the third subscription of the terminal indicates that adata network identity corresponding to the session supports interworkingwith the 4G system (or referred to as an EPS or an EPC) furtherincludes: The third subscription information of the terminal isindication information indicating that the data network identity and anetwork slice identification S-NSSAI that correspond to the sessionsupport interworking. The co-located session management function networkelement may be a network element having both a session managementcapability of the 4G system and a session management capability of the5G system, for example, an SMF+PGW-C. If the capability of the terminalindicates that the UE supports the 4G system and the 5G system, and thethird subscription information indicates that a data network identity ofthe session does not support interworking with the 4G system, the AMFdoes not select a co-located session management function network elementas the target session management network element, and performs step 1005b. That the AMF does not select a co-located session management functionnetwork element as the target session management network elementincludes: selecting, by the AMF as the target session management networkelement, a session management function network element that is notspecially used for interworking, for example, an SMF in a pure 5Gsystem. Therefore, the AMF may select the co-located session managementfunction network element as the target session management functionnetwork element for a terminal device having both an interworkingcapability and an interworking requirement.

In addition, the AMF may further determine a second message based on thecapability of the terminal device and the third subscriptioninformation, and send the second message to the target sessionmanagement function network element, such that the target sessionmanagement function network element determines a policy control networkelement and a charging system based on the second message. The secondmessage includes instruction information instructing the target sessionmanagement function network element to select a co-located policycontrol network element and a co-located charging system, or a policycontrol network element and a charging system that are in the firstcommunications system. For a process, refer to the embodimentcorresponding to FIG. 6.

Step 1005 a: The AMF selects an SMF+PGW-C as the target sessionmanagement network element, and sends a session request message to theSMF+PGW-C.

Step 1005 b: The AMF selects an SMF as the target session managementnetwork element, and sends a session request message to the SMF.

A subsequent session establishment procedure mainly includesconfiguration of radio resources, establishment of a user plane tunnel,and the like. For details, refer to other approaches.

Therefore, the AMF may select a session management function networkelement in the 5G system as the target session management networkelement for a terminal device having an interworking capability buthaving no interworking requirement. That is, the terminal device doesnot support interworking with 4G In this way, a session requirement canbe met, such that load of a co-located session management functionnetwork element can be reduced. Optionally, the AMF may instruct theco-located session management network element to select a policy controlnetwork element and a charging system that are in the 5G system for aterminal device having an interworking capability but having nointerworking requirement. That is, the terminal device does not supportinterworking with 4G, such that load of the co-located policy controlnetwork element and load of the co-located charging system can bereduced.

Further, it can be understood that, for content that is not clearlydescribed in the descriptions in the embodiment corresponding to FIG.10, reference may be made to an explanation of the foregoingembodiments.

In addition, a logical structure of the AMF in FIG. 10 may be shown inFIG. 7, and the steps described in FIG. 10 may be implemented using theprocessing unit, the receiving unit, and the sending unit that are inFIG. 7. It can be understood that the apparatus in the embodiment shownin FIG. 7 may be implemented using the network element 800 shown in FIG.8. For example, the processing unit 702 may be implemented by theprocessor 802, and the receiving unit 701 and the sending unit 703 maybe implemented by the transceiver 801. A structure of the networkelement 800 does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of thisapplication.

An embodiment of this application further provides a computer readablestorage medium. The computer readable storage medium stores a computerprogram. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer isenabled to perform the method of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, theprocessor is enabled to perform the steps corresponding to the MME shownin FIG. 9, and the processor is also enabled to perform the stepscorresponding to the AMF shown in FIG. 10.

To sum up, in the method provided in this embodiment of thisapplication, a first network element in a first communications systemreceives a first message from a terminal device, and the first messageis used to request to establish a session. In response to the firstmessage, the first network element in the first communications systemdetermines a target session management function network element based onfirst subscription information and second subscription information.Compared with selecting a network element based only on whether theterminal device supports a 4G system and a 5G system in otherapproaches, a terminal device that supports the 4G system and the 5Gsystem and that has no interworking requirement can properly select anetwork element, and load of a co-located session management functionnetwork element can be reduced.

When the first communications system is a 4G system, the secondcommunications system is a 5G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an MME, the MME may select aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management function network element for a terminal device havingboth an interworking capability and an interworking requirement. The MMEmay select a session management function network element in the 4Gsystem as the target session management network element for a terminaldevice having an interworking capability but having no interworkingrequirement. That is, the terminal device does not need to use a serviceof a 5G network or does not subscribe to a service of a 5G network. Inthis way, a session requirement can be met, such that load of aco-located session management function network element can be reduced.

When the first communications system is a 5G system, the secondcommunications system is a 4G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an AMF, the AMF may select aco-located session management function network element as the targetsession management function network element for a terminal device havingboth an interworking capability and an interworking requirement. The AMFmay select a session management function network element in the 5Gsystem as the target session management network element for a terminaldevice having an interworking capability but having no interworkingrequirement. That is, the terminal device does not need to use a serviceof a 4G network or does not subscribe to a service of a 4G network. Inthis way, a session requirement can be met, such that load of aco-located session management function network element can be reduced.

When the first communications system is a 4G system, the secondcommunications system is a 5G system, and the first network element inthe first communications system is an MME, the MME may instruct, using asecond message, a co-located session management function network elementto select a policy control network element and a charging system thatare in the 4G system for a terminal device having an interworkingcapability but having no interworking requirement. That is, the terminaldevice does not need to use a service of a 5G network or does notsubscribe to a service of a 5G network, such that load of a co-locatedpolicy control network element and load of a co-located charging systemcan be reduced. When the first communications system is a 5G system, thesecond communications system is a 4G system, and the first networkelement in the first communications system is an AMF, the AMF mayinstruct, using a second message, a co-located session managementfunction network element to select a policy control network element anda charging system that are in the 5G system for a terminal device havingan interworking capability but having no interworking requirement. Thatis, the terminal device does not need to use a service of a 4G networkor does not subscribe to a service of a 4G network, such that load of aco-located policy control network element and load of a co-locatedcharging system can be reduced.

A person skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments ofthis application may be provided as a method, a system, or a computerprogram product. Therefore, the embodiments of this application may usea form of hardware only embodiments, software only embodiments, orembodiments with a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, theembodiments of this application may use a form of a computer programproduct that is implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media(including but not limited to a magnetic disk memory, a CD-ROM, anoptical memory, and the like) that include computer-usable program code.

The embodiments of this application are described with reference to theflowcharts and/or block diagrams of the method, the device (system), andthe computer program product according to the embodiments of thisapplication. It should be understood that computer program instructionsmay be used to implement each process and/or each block in theflowcharts and/or the block diagrams and a combination of a processand/or a block in the flowcharts and/or the block diagrams. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided for a general-purposecomputer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor, or a processor ofanother programmable data processing device to generate a machine, suchthat the instructions executed by a computer or a processor of anotherprogrammable data processing device generate an apparatus forimplementing a function in one or more processes in the flowchartsand/or in one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer readablememory that can instruct the computer or another programmable dataprocessing device to work in a specific manner, such that theinstructions stored in the computer readable memory generate an artifactthat includes an instruction apparatus. The instruction apparatusimplements a function in one or more processes in the flowcharts and/orin one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a computer oranother programmable data processing device, such that a series ofoperations and steps are performed on the computer or the otherprogrammable device, thereby generating computer-implemented processing.Therefore, the instructions executed on the computer or the otherprogrammable device provide steps for implementing a function in one ormore processes in the flowcharts and/or in one or more blocks in theblock diagrams.

A person skilled in the art can make various modifications andvariations to embodiments of this application without departing from thespirit and scope of this application. In this way, this application isintended to cover these modifications and variations provided that theyfall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims andtheir equivalent technologies.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network element selection method, comprising:sending, by a network element selection apparatus, a request message toa user data management network element, wherein the request messagerequests subscription information of a user equipment (UE); sending, bythe user data management network element, subscription information ofthe UE to the network element selection apparatus; receiving, by thenetwork element selection apparatus, a first message from the UE,wherein the first message requests establishing a session; anddetermining, by the network element selection apparatus, in response tothe first message, a target session management function network elementbased on a capability of the UE and the subscription information of theUE, wherein the subscription information indicates whether or not a datanetwork identity corresponding to the session supports interworking witha second communications system.
 2. The network element selection methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the network element selection apparatus isan access and mobility management function (AMF) network element,wherein the target session management function network element is aco-located session management function network element, wherein thecapability of the UE indicates that the UE supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information of the UE indicates that the data networkidentity supports interworking with a fourth generation (4G) system,wherein the first communications system is a fifth generation (5G)system, and wherein the second communications system is the 4G system.3. The network element selection method according to claim 1, whereinthe network element selection apparatus is an access and mobilitymanagement function (AMF) network element, wherein the target sessionmanagement function network element is a session management functionnetwork element in a fifth generation (5G) system, wherein thecapability of the UE indicates that the UE supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information indicates that the data network identity doesnot support interworking with a fourth generation (4G) system, whereinthe first communications system is the 5G system, and wherein the secondcommunications system is the 4G system.
 4. The network element selectionmethod according to claim 1, wherein the network element selectionapparatus is a mobility management entity (MME) network element, whereinthe target session management function network element is a co-locatedsession management function network element, wherein the capability ofthe UE indicates that the UE supports a first communications system andthe second communications system, wherein the subscription informationof the UE indicates that the data network identity supports interworkingwith a fifth generation (5G) system, wherein the first communicationssystem is a fourth generation (4G) system, and wherein the secondcommunications system is the 5G system.
 5. The network element selectionmethod according to claim 1, wherein the network element selectionapparatus is a mobility management entity (MME) network element, whereinthe target session management function network element is a sessionmanagement function network element in a fourth generation (4G) system,wherein the capability of the UE indicates that the UE supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information indicates that the data network identity doesnot support interworking with a fifth generation (5G) system, whereinthe first communications system is the 4G system, and wherein the secondcommunications system is the 5G system.
 6. The network element selectionmethod according to claim 1, further comprising sending, by the networkelement selection apparatus, a second message to the target sessionmanagement function network element, wherein the second messageindicates determining a policy control network element and a chargingsystem.
 7. The network element selection method according to claim 2,wherein the co-located session management function network element is asession management function (SMF)+packet data network (PDN)gateway-control (PGW-C) (SMF+PGW-C).
 8. The network element selectionmethod according to claim 1, wherein the network element selectionapparatus is an access and mobility management function (AMF) networkelement, wherein the target session management function network elementis a co-located session management function network element, wherein thecapability of the UE indicates that the UE supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information of the UE indicates that the data networkidentity and a network slice identification (S-NSSAI) that correspond tothe session support interworking with a fourth generation (4G) system,wherein the first communications system is a fifth generation (5G)system, and wherein the second communications system is the 4G system.9. A network element selection method, comprising: receiving, by a firstnetwork element in a first communications system, a first message from aterminal device, wherein the first message requests establishing asession; and determining, by the first network element in response tothe first message, a target session management function network elementin the first communications system based on a capability of the terminaldevice and subscription information of the terminal device, wherein thesubscription information indicates whether or not a data networkidentity corresponding to the session supports interworking with asecond communications system.
 10. The method according to claim 9,wherein the first network element in the first communications system isan access and mobility management function (AMF) network element,wherein the target session management function network element is aco-located session management function network element, wherein thecapability of the terminal device indicates that the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, wherein the subscription information of the terminal deviceindicates that the data network identity supports interworking with afourth generation (4G) system, wherein the first communications systemis a fifth generation (5G) system, and wherein the second communicationssystem is the 4G system.
 11. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe first network element in the first communications system is anaccess and mobility management function (AMF) network element, whereinthe target session management function network element is a sessionmanagement function network element in a fifth generation (5G) system,wherein the capability of the terminal device indicates that theterminal device supports the first communications system and the secondcommunications system, wherein the subscription information indicatesthat the data network identity does not support interworking with afourth generation (4G) system, wherein the first communications systemis the 5G system, and wherein the second communications system is the 4Gsystem.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first networkelement in the first communications system is a mobility managemententity (MME) network element, wherein the target session managementfunction network element is a co-located session management functionnetwork element, wherein the capability of the terminal device indicatesthat the terminal device supports the first communications system andthe second communications system, wherein the subscription informationof the terminal device indicates that the data network identitycorresponding to the session supports interworking with a fifthgeneration (5G) system, wherein the first communications system is afourth generation (4G) system, and wherein the second communicationssystem is the 5G system.
 13. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe first network element in the first communications system is amobility management entity (MIME) network element, wherein the targetsession management function network element is a session managementfunction network element in a fourth generation (4G) system, wherein thecapability of the terminal device indicates that the terminal devicesupports the first communications system and the second communicationssystem, wherein the subscription information indicates that the datanetwork identity does not support interworking with a fifth generation(5G) system, wherein the first communications system is the 4G system,and wherein the second communications system is the 5G system.
 14. Themethod according to claim 9, further comprising sending, by the firstnetwork element, a second message to the target session managementfunction network element, wherein the second message indicatesdetermining a policy control network element and a charging system. 15.A network element selection apparatus, comprising: a memory storinginstructions; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein theprocessor is configured to execute the instructions to cause theprocessor to: receive, a first message from a terminal device, whereinthe first message requests establishing a session; and in response tothe first message, determine a target session management functionnetwork element based on a capability of the terminal device andsubscription information of the terminal device, wherein thesubscription information indicates whether or not a data networkidentity corresponding to the session supports interworking with asecond communications system.
 16. The network element selectionapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the target session managementfunction network element is a co-located session management functionnetwork element, wherein the capability of the terminal device indicatesthat the terminal device supports a first communications system and thesecond communications system, wherein the subscription information ofthe terminal device indicates that the data network identity supportsinterworking with a fourth generation (4G) system, wherein the firstcommunications system is a fifth generation (5G) system, wherein thesecond communications system is the 4G system, and wherein the networkelement selection apparatus is an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF) network element in the 5G system.
 17. The network elementselection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the target sessionmanagement function network element is a session management functionnetwork element in a fifth generation (5G) system, wherein thecapability of the terminal device indicates that the terminal devicesupports a first communications system and the second communicationssystem, wherein the subscription information indicates that the datanetwork identity does not support interworking with a fourth generation(4G) system, wherein the first communications system is the 5G system,wherein the second communications system is the 4G system, and whereinthe network element selection apparatus is an access and mobilitymanagement function (AMF) network element in the 5G system.
 18. Thenetwork element selection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein thetarget session management function network element is a co-locatedsession management function network element, wherein the capability ofthe terminal device indicates that the terminal device supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information of the terminal device indicates that the datanetwork identity supports interworking with a fifth generation (5G)system, wherein the first communications system is a fourth generation(4G) system, wherein the second communications system is the 5G system,and wherein the network element selection apparatus is a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) network element (MME) in the 4G system.
 19. Thenetwork element selection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein thetarget session management function network element is a sessionmanagement function network element in a fourth generation (4G) system,wherein the capability of the terminal device indicates that theterminal device supports a first communications system and the secondcommunications system, wherein the subscription information indicatesthat the data network identity does not support interworking with afifth generation (5G) system, wherein the first communications system isthe 4G system, and wherein the second communications system is the 5Gsystem.
 20. The network element selection apparatus according to claim15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processorto send a second message to the target session management functionnetwork element.
 21. The network element selection apparatus accordingto claim 20, wherein the second message indicates determining a policycontrol network element and a charging system.
 22. The network elementselection apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the network elementselection apparatus is a mobility management entity (MME) networkelement in the 4G system.
 23. The network element selection apparatusaccording to claim 16, wherein the co-located session managementfunction network element is a session management function (SMF)+packetdata network (PDN) gateway-control (PGW-C) (SMF+PGW−C).
 24. The networkelement selection apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the targetsession management function network element is a co-located sessionmanagement function network element, wherein the capability of theterminal device indicates that the terminal device supports a firstcommunications system and the second communications system, wherein thesubscription information of the terminal device indicates that the datanetwork identity and a network slice identification (S-NSSAI) thatcorrespond to the session support interworking with a fourth generation(4G) system, wherein the first communications system is a fifthgeneration (5G) system, wherein the second communications system is the4G system, and wherein the network element selection apparatus is anaccess and mobility management function (AMF) network element in the 5Gsystem.
 25. A network element selection system, comprising: a networkelement selection apparatus configured to: send a request message;receive a first message from a user equipment (UE), wherein the firstmessage requests establishing a session; and determine, in response tothe first message, a target session management function network elementbased on a capability of the UE and subscription information of the UE,wherein the subscription information indicates whether or not a datanetwork identity corresponding to the session supports interworking witha second communications system; and a user data management networkelement configured to: receive the request message from the networkelement selection apparatus, wherein the request message requestssubscription information of the UE; and send the subscriptioninformation of the UE to the network element selection apparatus.
 26. Anon-transitory computer readable medium configured to store a computerinstruction that, when executed by a processor of a network elementselection apparatus, causes the network element selection apparatus to:receive a first message from a terminal device, wherein the firstmessage requests establishing a session; and determine, in response tothe first message, a target session management function network elementin a first communications system based on a capability of the terminaldevice and subscription information of the terminal device, wherein thesubscription information indicates whether or not a data networkidentity corresponding to the session supports interworking with asecond communications system.